Kind of Like the Original ‘Parent Trap’ but with Dumber Jokes and More Adult Themes ~ Movie Review of ‘Just Go With It’

Okay, let’s get this out of the way, this movie stars Adam Sandler…there I said it, now you can banish me to the seventh ring of Hades.  I don’t know why I wanted to see ‘Just Go With It’, especially after suffering through ‘Grown Ups’ last summer (it was showing at a Drive-In with a few other films so don’t judge) but I must have a forgiving heart.  Actually, what sold me on the film was the premise.  It sounded fun and light and after a harsh Kansas City winter I was in the mood to see something silly…and silly it was.

 

                I’m not going to pretend the movie lived up to the potential of its trailer because it didn’t.  The idea behind the story is that Sandler is able to pick up women who would otherwise be considered out of his league all because he wears a wedding ring and soulfully bemoans how his wife mistreats him which magically melts the hearts of the big-chested babes at whatever bar he is at the moment.  The storyline would lead the audience to believe that this trick has been working for him since 1988 after he overheard his bride-to-be bragging about her latest conquest (ergo setting up the situation to show that he was maligned first to hopefully make him appear slightly nicer than someone who might actually pull such a stunt).  When he finally meets the girl of his dreams, played by Brooklyn Decker who last year was the cover girl for the ‘Sport Illustrated Swimsuit Edition’, they get along swell until she finds his gold wedding ring and calls him out as a married man who cares not about cheating on his wife and deceiving her.  The only way he can salvage the budding relationship is to tell her that he is divorcing and the only way she will believe him is if he produces his soon to be ex which he does in the form of Jennifer Aniston who is his nurse and office manager (Sandler is a plastic surgeon in the movie). 

 

                Okay, you know how this film is going to end just by looking at the poster.  Aniston is supposed to be rough around the edges due to being a single mother whose ex husband seems to care little about their two children therefore if she is going to do this favor for Sandler he is going to pony her up with some designer duds including swanky shoes that are so high that she has trouble walking in them.  When, because of an errant phone conversation made by Aniston, Sandler then has to get her children in on the act and this eventually leads to a luxurious vacation for the whole crew to Hawaii.

 

                I think the film would have been better if Sandler and gang didn’t push the limits of believability with a vacay in paradise along with a possible wedding hanging in the balance.  Stories built on unlikely premises really shouldn’t up the ante with more unlikely situations because the comedy gets muddied with questions about the whys and hows.  Other things that I didn’t think aboded well for the film included some of the rough treatment of the children.  For instance, during a nature walk through the rain forest, Sandler carries Aniston’s daughter on his shoulders, all for the performance of being a devoted father, once Decker (I’m not going to bother with the character’s names because in a Sandler film) rounds the corner he throws the child down into the mud where she makes some sort of quip in her faux British accent.  It is always up for debate how humorous it is to be cruel to children, but I thought it crossed the line.  Oh, and don’t get me started on what Decker was wearing to trudge through the Hawaiian jungle!

 

                Since Sandler put himself in this situation I’m going to address it; if he insists on starring in romantic comedies than for the love of a universal spirit he shouldn’t do close-ups.  It only serves to emphasize that he is far less of a looker than his female co-stars especially after there is scene where both Aniston and Decker are in bikinis.  With that said, I will add that he does tend to have good chemistry with his co-stars.  The part of ‘Just Go With It’ that works very well are his scenes with Aniston where they squabble and kid each other. 

 

                Jennifer Aniston will probably never live down that she was once married to a certain Hollywood notable who is now living with Angelina Jolie and their tribe of children.  I suppose one could look at it as a double edged sword.  The situation keeps her in the tabloids, which incidentally keeps her in the public eye, therefore she remains a B List actress acting in films.  Yet she has never had the movie role which professionally propels her past being Rachel on ‘Friends’.  Obviously this isn’t going to be the film that will get her some recognition by the Academy, however her presence in the movie makes it much more watchable than it would be with another actress cast in her part.  It is a glorified sitcom sort of role, and she really, really, really needs to be careful with how many of these sorts of parts she agrees take (she is already typecast) however no one is better at these roles than she.

 

                Speaking of movie roles, probably the most perplexing part about this film is the inexplicable presence of a certain A list actress who was actually up for Best Actress a few months ago.  When I was watching the film I think everyone in the audience tilted their heads like dogs watching other dogs bark on TV wondering if that was who they thought it was.  BTW, I’m not talking just a cameo either – I’m talking the type of role that in better films garners actresses Best Supporting Oscar nods.  Maybe I’m alone in this, but I think that it might be a funnier story to know who convinced her to do this film than the actual ‘comedy’ of the movie.

 

                ‘Just Go With It’ is mildly amusing.  I would say definitely if you enjoy the comedy musings of classic Sandler fare than the film might be a good rental choice or wait for it on cable.  It will be released on June 7^th.    

 

Westerfield © 2011